French president François Hollande has rejected an invite to attend the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in February, as has German President Joachim Gauck. But what about David Cameron? Although neither Hollande nor Gauck have given an explicit reason, it is suspected that unease over President Putin’s stance on gay and civil rights has played a part. No 10 tells me it “doesn’t usually talk about the Prime Minister’s travel plans in advance.”

The son of a provincial Venezuelan journalist said members of the national investigative police showed up at his father's radio station and arrested him 10 minutes after he complained on the air that they were driving around in luxury cars.